After a yearlong process, Jones has begun a
program of teaching yoga classes at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in
Draper. Jones’
classes began in January in the shark
tank
viewing room and then, on Feb. 18.
expanded into the Journey to South America gallery. She
focuses on an all levels of
vinyasa flow.

“We
started with Yoga with the Sharks, and
that was a big hit but I noticed this space and I always feel so good and my
muscles feel so relaxed in this rainforest space. You can breathe in that fresh
humid air right from the tropical plants and have the ambiance of live,
free-flying birds,”
said Jones. “I
feel that Utahns will appreciate the nice reprieve from our dry, yucky air by
coming in here to this atrium environment.”

Jones, who has been practicing as a
certified yoga teacher for three years as well as spent
five years as a volunteer, specializes as
a hatha
yoga instructor and meditation coach, which focuses more on de-stressing and achieving
a peaceful mind. Vinyasa yoga focuses on the flow between each
pose, moving from Asana to Asana rather than calmly setting into a pose.
Vinyasa coordinates movement with breathing, making it faster-paced than
traditional hatha
yoga.

Jones is grateful to have finally found her “niche,”
as she calls it. Her
journey to it began a year and half before
her first
Yoga with the Sharks class, when she was suffering from postpartum depression.

“I
would bring my son here and the shark
tunnel
was so tranquil, it kind of erased all of my depression symptoms. I just had to
show people how tranquil they can get when actually surrounded by nature.”

“I
saw it on Facebook and it appealed to me,”
said Corinne Adair, an attendee.
“The
instructor seems really personable.”

Attendees of the Rainforest Yoga class were asked to find a spot on the top floor platform of
the South American exhibit while brightly colored tropical birds flew freely
overhead. Dozens of mats were laid out while people of all ages and physical
types listened to the sound of birds and flowing water while Jones walked them
through meditative movements, asking them questions
like, “Who
am I?”

Cassie Dalton, who started
doing yoga six years ago, said, “I
like yoga and this sounded cool. I like the humidity, especially compared to
the Utah desert.”

Jones has hopes that through her classes, her students decide to
make changes for the better, both in their lives and the world around
them.

“I think we need a lot more
environmental awareness, especially given Utah’s
air, and I like to get people into yoga
and meditation because it gives them more self-awareness and more compassion,”
said Jones. “And to get them doing yoga in an environment that’s
so striking as the South American rainforest, maybe they’ll
make that connection, hey, I can make a difference and do little things to ease
the burden on our environment.”

Shelby Dobson, public relations
manager
for the aquarium, said they
are very pleased to be able to offer these classes and are happy with the response,
as each have sold out quickly.

“A
little sweat from the humidity and a little sweat from the yoga and you’ll
be detoxed in no time,”
said Jones. “The
aquarium
really provides such an amazing environment for people to come and learn.”